Bhubaneswar: Ram Navami, the festival celebrating the birth of Lord Ram, is being celebrated with religious fervour and gaiety across Odisha on Thursday. Hundreds of devotees thronged temples across the state since early morning today to offer their prayers to the seventh avatar of Lord Vishnu.
While large congregations of devotees were seen at different shrines in villages and cities across the state, there was a rush of devotees at the Sri Ram temple in Bhubaneswar.
Special rituals are also performed at Srimandir in Puri on the occasion of the holy Ram Navami. At the same time, people in Puri will be celebrating Sahi Jata, a distinctive tradition linked to the Jagannath culture. Preparations for the Sahi Jata have been completed and devotees are ready at different ‘Akhadas’ to take out processions during the day.
A festive mood was witnessed in various Odisha districts, especially Bhadrak, Balasore and Rourkela, where devotees have set up pandals to worship Lord Ram to celebrate his birth anniversary.
‘Agyana Malas’ have been brought to Gandhipadia in Bhadrak from Akhandalamani temple, Maa Bhadrakali temple and Maa Biraja temple in Jajpur and s ‘Jagyan’ will be performed in the city throughout the day. ‘Nagara Sankirtana’ will also be taken out in Bhadrak at 3 pm on Thursday on the occasion of Ram Navami celebrations.
Meanwhile, the district administrations in different places of the state have made elaborate security arrangements to maintain law and order during the huge processions. In Bhadrak, seven drone cameras have been deployed to keep a vigil and prevent any untoward incident during the procession.
At the same time, more than 76 CCTV cameras have been installed at various places to keep a tab on the processions.
Paying his obeisance to Lord Ram, eminent sand artist Sudarsan Pattnaik has created a splendid sand art at Puri sea beach on the holy occasion of Ram Navami.
